If you have the budget to hop a plane to Paris, then make sure you make an evening at the Hotel Costes, a landmark restaurant, bar and lounge in the City of Lights.

However, this is December! Forget about budget -- who has the time, honey? Time! The best thing to do while you're running around town shopping for gifts, getting your mani/pedi for the party tonight, and heading over to the post office to mail a hundred Holiday cards, is to pop any of the CDs in the Hotel Costes series into your player in the car. DJ Stephane Pompougnac spins downtempo electronica that is perfectly suitable for keeping your calm in traffic, or as background music when you're entertaining guests in your home.

Most of the CDs in the series are about $23 each at Amazon.com